The Dodgers have had one of the best Farm systems for as long as anyone can remember and 2024 promises to be no different. One of the best parts of Spring Training is that all of these prospects are in the same place, and fans can watch them all at the same time.

Today’s article is going to cover 5 more prospects that you’ll wanna keep an eye on when the Dodgers get things started up.

Dalton Rushing

Rushing is the Dodgers #1 prospect, which speaks for itself, because he has an enormous amount of talent. He is primarily a catcher, but, has also played a lot of 1st base dating back to his days at Louisville.

Rushing has immense power, but, also, has an equal amount of discipline. He had a K% of 24.4%, which is under 25%, and for a guy with his power, is more than acceptable. Especially when you consider that his BB% was 18.9%, and his ISO was .224. 

All of those statistics/metrics suggest that Rushing has one of the best combinations of power vs. plate discipline of any young prospect in the game.

Defensively, he is good and growing fast. He leads all of the pitchers meetings, and puts in as much, or more, mental game planning in as anyone possibly could. He knows the opposing hitters and how to attack them very well. 

His arm is good, and, if you look through the videos by clicking on the picture above, you’ll see that he can throw runners out from his knees. 

Rushing hit just .228 last year, but, because he was so disciplined, and hit 15 home runs, he also posted an on base percentage over .400 and a slugging percentage of .452. As a result, his WRC+ was 146, which means he was 46% above the league average in terms of value to his team. And, he is going to hit for a higher average as he gains experience, so he stands to post a WRC+ North of 150, which, statistically is significant.

75% of Minor Leaguers who post a WRC+ of 150 or above at least one time in their career have made the Major Leagues. Of that 75%, 25% of them have become Major League All Stars, so keep your eyes on him. 

Jose Ramos

Ramos has as many tools as any prospect in the game, and that’s not an exaggeration. This dude can flat play defense, he has an incredible arm, a world of power at the plate and can hit the ball the other way as well.

I do wish he would use his speed more on the base paths to steal more bases, but he does have speed, and has the potential to be a + defender at any one of the 3 outfield spots.

Ramos does have a world of power, but he also swings and misses quite a bit. His K% was 32.7% in 2022, but then improved to 28.9% last year. 28.9% is an improvement over 2022, but, when combined with 19 home runs, provided an ISO of .168. Which means, he likely needs to improve his tradeoff between power and striking out.

Having said that, he still posted a WRC+ of 97, which means that, his floor likely doesn’t go much below the league average. And, many times, the Dodgers choose higher floors over higher ceilings because it makes it easier to predict what, at the very least, a player is going to give the club. And, Ramos has yet to make it past the AA level, but is still only 23, so, he has a lot of time still left to grow and refine his game.

One thing I would like to see in Ramos is more stolen bases. He has the speed and instincts, as anyone who spends any time watching him roam the outfield can tell. For instance, last year he only stole 7 bases, and he’s only stolen 22 bases in all of his action since 2019. I think he’s capable of being a perennial 20/20 type player if he would focus more on stealing bases. 

Kevin Gowdy

Kevin Gowdy is a relief pitcher that came to the Dodgers last year from the Rangers, the same as Ricky Vanasco, Also similar to Vanasco, he tightened up him mix and made huge strides last year in 2023.

Gowdy has always featured a good 4 seam, and still throws it on occasion, but has added a Sinker to his fastball repertoire. His slider is a + pitch and he has also added a cutter that he is in the process of refining. 

His 2 seam fastball can reach the mid to upper 90’s and is thrown to the 4 spot location or at the top of the zone primarily. When spotted up properly, it gives him the ability to throw strikes without getting ambushed and to also get swing and miss. Click here or on the picture to the left to watch his 4 seam in action.

Many times clubs use spin rate to determine whether a pitcher should be throwing a 2 seam or 4 seam, and Gowdy can sometimes get caught in between. So, he’s added a Sinker to add movement in fastball counts. It’s a pitch he can throw to either righties or lefties, so it has turned into a very good pitch. Click here or on the picture to the right to watch his 2 seam in action. 

Gowdy’s cutter is a good pitch because it gives him the ability to move the ball away from barrels while also having a pitch that promises to be a high strike efficiency pitch. Click here or on the picture to the left to watch Gowdy throw his cutter.

Gowdy has a very good slider as well that he can get very good depth with when he’s ahead in the count and looking for a strike out. He’s very good at locating this pitch to the outer half, while also keeping it in the strike zone. Click here or on the picture to the right to watch his slider. 

River Ryan

River Ryan is one of the most talented young pitching prospects in the game. He is a “Non Roster” invitee, just simply because he was not eligible for the Rule 5 draft, and, thus, the Dodgers did not have to place him on the 40 man to protect him. 

He was drafted by the Padres out of UNC Pembroke where he was, quite possibly, the best 2 way player in the nation. He started his career with the Padres as a 2 way player, but only threw a couple of bullpens when the Dodgers traded for him. The return was Matt Beaty. 

Once he came to the Dodgers, they made him a pitcher only, and he’s turned himself into one of the best pitching prospects in the game. 

Ryan has a 4 pitch mix featuring a 4 Seam fastball, a circle change, a slider and a curveball. The prospect feature below takes you through all of his pitches, how he uses them and breaks down his entire arsenal. To check that out, click here or click on the picture below.

4 Seam Fastball

His fastball has reached as high as 99 and he loves to ride it at the top of the zone to get above the swings of modern day hitters that lift. Click here, or on the picture to the left to watch how his fastball plays at the top of the zone.

Statcast data is kept at the AA level, but is not made available to the public, so the best way to identify how much spin a pitcher is getting on their 4 seam is to see how that pitch carries at the bottom of the zone. Ryan’s 4 Seam plays very well low in the zone, which suggests that the spin rate on his 4 seam is very good. Click here or on the picture to the right to watch him carry the bottom of the zone with his 4 Seam. 

Ryan is also very good at locating his 4 seam to what the Dodgers call the 4 slot, which is the arm side corner and preferably low. This pitch rides in underneath the swing of lefties and is low and away to righties, so it is a very important part of a successful fastball sequence. To watch Ryan locate his 4 Seam to the 4 slot click here or on the picture to the left. 

Slider

The Dodgers love to have their pitchers throw a slider for a multitude of reasons. For one, it tunnels very well off of the fastball and it also can take different shapes based on the count, the batter and the situation. When Ryan needs to throw the pitch for a strike he can make it smaller and more “cutterish” to get tighter spin, but less movement, which allows him to control the pitch with less likelihood of it getting ambushed. Click to watch what I call his “get me over” slider, which is smaller, and meant to be a high strike efficiency pitch. 

When Ryan is ahead in the count and is needing “swing and miss” he can add depth to his slider and make it a bigger pitch. It acts very similar to a curveball, but with tighter spin and usually more of an outside location after the pitch turns left. To watch his bigger “swing and miss” slider, click here or on the picture to the left. 

Ryan is also very good at throwing his slider to lefties as well and getting underneath their swings. When he throws this pitch you’ll see a lot of left handed hitters foul it off their foot, or just simply have very uncomfortable swings due to the tight spin, late break and the depth of the pitch that is buzzing in on their hands. To see how Ryan uses his slider to lefties click here or on the picture to the right. 

Emmet Sheehan

Sheehan graduated from technically being a prospect last September, but we’re gonna cover him anyways, because Dodgers fans need to know all about him.

Sheehan made his Major League debut last year and showed flashes of just how explosive his right arm actually is. His “Ride and Run” 4 seam, combined with his slider and devastating changeup make for a mix that is Major League ready.

His Fastball has reached as high as 99, and he’s almost certain to reach triple digits with it next year. When combined with the extension he gets by being 6’5, and the fact that it’s delivered from a 3/4 slot, it gives his fastball the potential to be elite, even at the Major League level. 

Changeup

Sheehan’s changeup has always been his best secondary pitch. He was a changeup/curveball guy in College, so he’s always been comfortable throwing those 2 pitches. He still considers those 2 pitches to be his most comfortable secondaries in terms of being able to land them for strikes.  Another advantage of the 3/4 delivery of Sheehan is that it allows him to get on top of his changeup and get good fading action to that pitch. 

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